Matthew Lovett

(ID# 20566522)

Lines of Inquiry / ToW Proposal

 

Part I:

 Are books essential to someone's development in learning how to write?

 Is it possible to understand concepts of writing through other visual means instead text?
 Where did the "set" rules of writing come from if every person develops differently and therefore there
are slight differences with every person's writing?
 As technology advances and less books are being read, what other forms of media are keeping writing
alive?
 More people can write than people who can play music, so why is music considered a more universal
way of communicating?

Part II

There must be surveys that targeted how if books are essential nowadays to learn about concepts of
writing. Nowadays, less people read books, so I find it very had to believe that most children nowadays learned
how to read from books. In fact, when I grew up, I don’t remember reading that many books but that’s probably
because I didn’t find them interesting or associated them with work. But people learn how to read regardless so
there must be other ways to people learn concepts. I am thinking many books have gotten out of style but
maybe not reading. I think simply online reading has replaced normal books, like amazon kindle and such. It
makes more sense; books take up space and having a whole collection of novels on your device is better and
more compact. I remember when I was little, a lot of concepts I learned were from movies.

Part III:

 Is complex vocabulary essential to know when you are translating and communicating ideas when
there is language barrier?
o I wonder if there is a point to using complex vocabulary for certain forms of media like novels,
which can be translated to different languages for certain regions. Would certain vocabulary
just misconstrue the author’s intended message? Should authors not worry to use complex
vocabulary and instead strive for simplicity in their words?
 When you are writing a novel, it is important to visualize a certain demographic in mind or not limit the
scope of who reads your work?
o I don’t believe you should limit yourself in anyway when working creatively, but if your work is
being sold commercially, what guarantees more profit? It’s hard enough to write a work of
fiction but is writing a novel towards kids as hard as writing a novel accessible to everyone?
 Is writing and language solely dependent on what a person learns throughout their life or are there
certain aspects that remain with us from the moment we are born that influence how we
communicate? 
o I’ve always been interested in the nature vs nurture debate, so I’m really curious how it may
apply to writing. I feel as though there were certain concepts about the English language I
knew from a very young age which I had a prior knowledge about, but their were likely
concepts I learned as I matured.